Earth Hour Global Update: Uganda unveils the world's first Earth Hour Forest

Preparations across the globe kick off for Earth Hour 2013 with the creation of the world’s first Earth Hour Forest in the East African nation of Uganda, to fight against the 6,000 hectares of deforestation that occurs in the country every month.

WWF Uganda identified close to 2,700 hectares of degraded land, and set a goal to fill it with at least 500,000 indigenous trees as part of their Earth Hour 2013 campaign. Earth Hour 2013 will take place at 8.30pm on Saturday 23 March.

“We cannot afford to ignore this critical environmental threat we are facing today. So, we are calling upon every individual, business, government agency, friends and family members to join us in planting this new landmark for Uganda’s environment,” said David Duli, Country Director, WWF Uganda Country Office.
Businesses, government officials and individuals are quickly heeding the call and taking up the challenge set by WWF Uganda to reach their 2013 goal.  Leading the way is Standard Chartered Bank – Uganda, which has already committed to plant close to 250,000 trees, and the Ugandan Minister of State for Water and Environment who has personally pledged to plant 1,000 trees.
“Earth Hour 2013 is the rallying point for millions of people in 152 countries and territories across the world to address the climate change challenge. It illustrates that it’s within our reach and power to work together for a sustainable future,” said Andy Ridley, CEO and co-founder of Earth Hour.
Join the Earth Hour global community and help save the planet at www.earthhour.org.

Earth Hour 2013 will take place at 8.30pm – 9.30pm on Saturday 23 March